In this March 3, 2012 file photo, director Bryan Singer arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of the play “8” in Los Angeles. A man who claims he was sexually abused by the “X-Men” franchise director Singer said Thursday, April 17, 2014, that he reported the molestation to authorities at the time, and does not know why charges were never pursued. Egan sued Singer in Hawaii on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, and is seeking more than $75,000 on each of four accusations: intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, assault and invasion of privacy. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, file)
LOS ANGELES — A lawyer for “X-Men” director Bryan Singer on Thursday dismissed as defamatory claims that the filmmaker sexually assaulted a former child model and aspiring teenage actor.
The alleged victim, Michael Egan III, said in a lawsuit that Singer forced him to have sex at parties in California and Hawaii in the late 1990s, when he was 17 years old.
But Singer’s lawyer said the allegations were absurd, and that the timing of their release was designed to generate maximum publicity ahead of the release of the latest “X-Men” movie next month.
“The claims made against Bryan Singer are completely without merit. We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit,” said Marty Singer, who said he is not related to the director.
“It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan’s new movie is about to open in a few weeks.”
“X-Men: Days of Future Past,” starring Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Hugh Jackman is due out on May 23 in the United States, and around the world on that date or a few days before.
In the lawsuit, Egan alleged that Singer “manipulated his power, wealth, and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats and inducements.”
He suffered “catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries” because of the abuse, added the 13-page legal document filed Wednesday in Hawaii.
– Plied with drinks –
Egan, who grew up in Nebraska, moved first to New York, where he did some modeling, and then to Los Angeles, where he was invited to parties.
“I had drugs put in drinks, I had liquor poured down my throat,” Egan said, saying the abuse happened in one particular house.
“I was raped numerous times in that house, by numerous individuals.
“You were like a piece of meat to these people, they would pass you around between them,” Egan said, calling his attackers “evil.”
In terms of threats, he recalled one time when a gun was put in his mouth. “As a child, I was scared to death,” Egan said.
Egan, now 31, said he told his mother about the abuse at the time and that she went to the police about it.
The LA Police Department brought in an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but the case was not pursued.
“It fell on deaf ears,” Egan told reporters at a Beverly Hills press conference.
“Then I basically buried it in me, as deep as I possibly could, and I developed a problem with drinking to numb that pain for years.”
He began going to trauma therapy 11 months ago and then sought legal action.
His lawyer Jeff Herman denied the timing of the lawsuit was linked to the upcoming “X-Men” film release, saying it was due to a legal “window” in Hawaii that meant he has to file before April 24.
And Herman — who specializes in sex abuse cases, including representing victims of Catholic clergy in the United States — said he will likely file another three or four lawsuits.
“Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children,” he said.